


Flowery Feelings

by xcamay



Series: Kingdom AU [1]
Category: Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Alternative Universe - Kingdom, F/F, Flowers, Flowers everywhere, Language of Flowers, Princess!Riko, Secret Relationship, Yuri, established relationships - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2019-01-04 23:22:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12178506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xcamay/pseuds/xcamay
Summary: Today is the Princess' birthday ... But one guest is missing. And, certainly the most important one to the birthday girl.





	Flowery Feelings

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, I was supposed to post that fic here on Riko's birthday, but I only posted it on tumblr and then I forgot ... But it's a weird birthday fic, so I suppose it's not a big deal!  
> I seriously don't know how AO3 works, so I won't go on and on, so ... Make way for the story! :'3

Once all the guests have taken a seat and comfortably settled down, loud chatter erupts and fills the huge dining hall, much to Riko’s great displeasure. It is not like she isn’t happy to be here, at the head of the table with the two Queens –her parents– sitting next to her, surrounded by most of the servants who saw her grow up … and, of course, by far too many acquaintances.  
  
No, honestly. Riko loves dining with her doting parents, and with ‘Auntie’ Tsubasa and ‘Auntie’ Honoka, two housemaids who are close friends with her Mama and Mommy, and whom she holds close to her heart. But, dining today with so many strangers is quite unnerving and nerve-wracking for the crimson-haired beauty. She couldn’t care less about the old aristocrats who were invited to her baptism years ago ; she couldn’t even care less about the other royal families, who are certainly here today out of obligation.  
  
Truthfully, Riko would rather run away from that formal dinner than stay here, on her comfy seat, listening to the annoying chit-chat of all those toffs. She knows that the Queens aren’t the ones who orchestrated all this. After all, they are so thoughtful, so nice and so involved when it comes to their little princess that the idea of organizing a big ceremony for Riko’s twentieth birthday would have never crossed their mind. It is certainly their old and exasperating advisor behind this … setup. But her parents must have agreed because it was an occasion for them to adorn most of the rooms and halls and corridors with Riko’s favorite flowers –among all the flowers the princess tends to on a day-to-day basis.  
  
Riko’s love for gardening comes from her childhood, the moment when her Mommy unconsciously conveyed her passion for plants and flowers to her. Riko remembers it as if it were yesterday : she was barely starting to learn how to speak when, one day, she escaped from her Mama and Honoka in the kitchens and ran to the garden. Where she bumped into her Mommy, who was watering a bush of light blue flowers. A few years later, she learnt that they were hydrangeas –and they quickly became her favorite–, while learning at the same time how to tend to an entire garden and everything related to the world of flowers.  
  
_“Mommy,” Riko once asked as she was sitting in the grass, the Queen tenderly braiding her daughter’s shoulder-length hair, “Why did you tell Auntie Tsubasa to take our pink p- … Peonies for her wedding bouquet?”  
  
“Because peonies are known to be a symbol of romance and love, and even of beauty and honor,” her Mommy replied, fingers combing a few unruly crimson locks. “Pink peonies are often used in wedding bouquets, and I want your aunties to express their love for each other even with the bouquet.”  
  
“Oh … Can they put my favorite flowers in their bouquet?”  
  
Riko leaned her head back when she heard an uncharacteristic snort behind her, meeting her Mommy’s amused lilac eyes. “Unfortunately sweetheart, no one should make a wedding bouquet with blue hydrangeas.”  
  
“Why? Don’t the other flowers mean love and beauty and grace? Like, all the flowers?”  
  
“No,” Anju answered her daughter after tying the end of the braid with a magenta _ kosumosu _. “Yours, as it happens, don’t really represent love between two persons. If you give a blue hydrangea to someone, it means that you’re turning them down … With refinement,” the Queen giggled before seizing the ivory watering can, on which were drawn blossoms.  
  
Riko stood up and grabbed her mother’s hand, following her under an arch with ivy and climbing roses creeping it up. “Mommy, can you tell me more about the flowers?”  
  
“Of course.” She smiled, before loosening her grip around the little girl’s hand and handing her the watering can. “What if you water the tulips and I tell you everything about them, for now?”  
  
“Yes!”_  
  
Riko heaves a discreet sigh as she straightens her back once again, lowering her gaze and looking at the empty plate in front of her. _Ah_ , she desperately wishes she could have shared this copious meal with someone else. How she misses those amazing sapphire irises …

“So, Riko-hime. What about the ball we suggested earlier, for tonight?”  
  
Her ears suddenly perk up, and Riko raises her head at the question. She arches a curious eyebrow at that and presses her lips together –she feels a little bit ashamed … She did not listen to the conversations, after all. She was too lost in her thoughts.  
  
Fortunately, the man –is he an emperor?– goes on, “My son here, Takehiko, would take pride in giving you your first dance at this ball.” As he says that, he nods in direction of the young brown-haired boy sitting next to him.  
  
The golden-eyed young woman uneasily glances at all the guests in front of her –they are _all_ staring at her, as if they were expecting her to say whatever they want her to say–, before she silently calls for help while looking at her parents. She lightly frowns when, on her left, she sees her auburn-haired mother hiding a teasing grin behind her hand … Before she sighs, relieved, when her other mother saves the day :  
  
“Let’s not precipitate things, if you please.” Erena closes her eyes, trying to prevent herself from frowning too much –no boy is allowed around her little girl so soon. She isn’t psychologically ready for that. “You and I both know it takes some time to plan this kind of event, especially if we want it to be a success, don’t we, Taira-sama?”  
  
“Especially if we want Maki-chan to come and play for us!” Honoka happily pipes in, earning a nod of agreement from the two Queens.  
  
“What, that pianist woman,” the rich man scoffs, “Why, are–“  
  
Once again, Riko loses track of the conversation, glancing at the garlands her parents placed on some furniture, to decorate the dining hall. They are all a mess of green and all shades of pink –light pink, baby pink, magenta-pink, … She recognizes all of the flowers used to create the garlands and the few crowns here and there : mandevillas, geraniums, daylilies, anemones, _hibiscus syriacus_ , tulips, phlox, and the much-vaunted peonies.  
  
The pink geraniums make her smile –it remembers her some bedtime stories her Mama was telling : in some fantasy tales, pink geraniums were used by witches when they were making love potions.  
  
_Mou, why did they cut my pink peonies, I wanted to use them for my wedding bouquet …_ Riko pouts as that thought invades her mind, before her gaze turns into a longing and melancholic one. _But I guess it’s impossible … Ah, You-chan, why do we have to be so different …_  
  
She holds an umpteenth sigh back, her eyes repeatedly trailing on the numerous festoons. The light pink tulips are beautiful, this year …  
  
_Mh …?_  
  
Riko’s eyes suddenly squint, to get a better look at the garlands.  
  
_… Where are the hydrangeas?_

Even though the blue hydrangeas have always been Riko’s favorite flowers, the fact remains that she loves hydrangeas in general –even the white, pink, and purple ones–, so … Either she is too used to being spoiled by her parents, or she’s just becoming temperamental. To reassure herself – _no, she isn’t a temperamental child_ –, she looks out of one of the closest windows from where she’s sitting, now able to see the hydrangeas location. One can clearly see Riko’s preferred spot in the garden from the dining hall and from the kitchens …  
  
And it is with horror that the princess realizes that the many hydrangea shrubs seem to have lost some things.  
  
“Mommy–“ Riko turns her head to look at her mother, who solely raises a curious eyebrow, “–what happened to the hydrangeas? We planted them last time, and even some new ones …”  
  
“You finally noticed.” The lilac-eyed woman smiles, before she shrugs a little. “Lots of them disappeared last night.”  
  
Riko blinks, astonished.  
  
“… How can you be so … um, calm, about that?”  
  
Another shrug from her mother, and the princess frowns, more confused than anything else. This is … Unusual. Unfortunately for Riko, they drop the subject, the Queen getting to her feet and accompanying Honoka to the kitchens. It seems like it is time for the cake –and, soon, the opportunity for Riko to get up from the table.  
  
However, after three mouthfuls, the crimson-haired princess abruptly drops her spoon on the table, startling almot everyone and catching their attention.  
  
“I-I apologize,” she stutters, trying to forget all the pairs of eyes on her, “But I forgot, I … I have something to do. Um, may I?” she asks, her words more directed to her mothers.  
  
“My, of course, sweetie.”  
  
“Thank you.” Riko smiles at them, before looking at a pouting Honoka. “Your cake is delicious –I mean it. But I … I really need to go. I’m sorry …”  
  
The ginger housemaid only shakes her head with a bright smile, and Riko knows it’s the last cue she needed before leaving. For as long as she is in the dining hall, she does her best to keep a graceful, regular, steady and calm pace. But, once she has closed the big doors behind them, she dashes toward the garden. It is very unladylike – _un-princess-like_ , even. But she doesn’t care ; she can swear that she saw that short mane, that brownish ashen mane, in which she would love to slide her hands. She can’t be wrong.  
  
She just can’t.  
  
“Hi there, Hime-sama.”  
  
Even if she is trying to catch her breath after this unexpected dash, the greeting immediately makes her smile. And the sight, too. _She_ is here, one arm hidden behind her back, while she awkwardly shifts her weight on her feet, with this irresistible smile of hers –shy, but with a hint of cockiness behind.  
  
“Hello, You-chan.” Riko approaches the fence that separates her from her blue-eyed lover, her heart now wildly thundering in her chest.  
  
The latter instantly mimics her, and the two girls reach for the other’s hand between the metal bars. You offers her princess an almost sad smile, her calloused fingertips tenderly brushing Riko’s soft and pale skin, as if it were the most fragile thing she had ever held.  
  
“You came …” Riko murmurs, “I’m so happy …” She slides her free hand through two bars, before cupping You’s cheek and grazing it with her thumb.  
  
“How could I have forgotten and missed that,” You weakly chuckles, her voice as low as her lover’s, while she rests her head against the fence, their breaths mingling together. “Everyone in town keeps talking about the princess’ birthday, you know. Which reminds me …” You trails off as she reluctantly pulls away –not without planting a kiss on the red-haired beauty’s forehead through the bars. “Here.”  
  
Riko curiously tilts her head on the side as she watches her heart’s desire move her previously hidden arm … Only for her expression to change into a surprised one, before a dazzling smile illuminates her face.  
  
The pink hydrangeas … It was You.  
  
“Someone told me that those flowers are the ones you like the most,” the ashen-haired girl says after clearing her throat, an adorable red hue dusting her cheeks. “They … They also told me their meanings, and I thought it matched perfectly, so …”  
  
“Did they,” the princess hums, some assumptions unconsciously trotting in the back of her mind.  
  
“Yeah.” You nervously scratches her neck, before she holds the bunch of flowers with her two hands. “Pink hydrangeas … For love, and heartfelt emotions.”  
  
The birthday girl slowly nods her head, her amber eyes already glistening. “Y-yes, they stand for romance …”  
  
“And, um, here …” As carefully as she can, You pushes a few hydrangeas, revealing four small roses. Three of them are medium pink colored, and the last one –still in bud break– wears a darker shade of pink. The girl clears her throat once more, before she goes on, “Medium pink roses, for, uh …”  
  
“For your first love,” Riko shakily breathes, completing the sentence, her eyes never leaving the bouquet.  
  
With a nod, You glances at the flowers again, before she places one finger under the half-bud half-rose. “And a dark pink one to express your gratitude and say thank you.”  
  
“Thank you?”  
  
Another nod, and the two lovebirds finally look at each other, with a fond but broken expression.  
  
“Thank you, for everything. Thank you for … For believing in me, all the time. For accepting me, for … just existing, and being there. But mostly, thank you for returning my feelings and loving me.”  
  
“Y-You-chan …”  
  
“… Happy birthday, Riko-chan.”  
  
You’s sad smile is back as she says that. And it doesn’t leave her face as she does her best to give her princess the bouquet she made through the fence, almost slipping the flowers one by one as to not crumple them.  
  
“Thank you …” Despite her tears, Riko smiles, and brings her hands around the stems, holding this perfect gift, which is even made of her favorite color. “I-I love them.”  
  
She holds the flowers for a few seconds, silently gazing at them, under You’s soft and loving sapphire eyes. Then, she hides the bouquet behind her back with her left arm, now able to lean in without damaging it. She leans in, more and more, just like her lover, and closes her eyes.  
  
Their noses lightly brush, and Riko whispers, as if it could break everything around them, “And I love you even more, You-chan …”  
  
Before she presses their lips together, as much as the fence allows them to, longing and sorrow filling their souls.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for your time!  
> It was my first time using AO3, so I hope I didn't do everything wrong D:


End file.
